explaining_errors_in_star_trekfandomcom-20200215-history
Soldiers of the Empire
' |image= |series= |production=40510-519 |producer(s)= |story= |script= Ronald D. Moore |director= LeVar Burton |imdbref=tt0708603 |guests=J. G. Hertzler as Martok, David Graf as Leskit, Rick Worthy as Kornan, Sandra Nelson as Tavana, Scott Leva as Ortakin and Aron Eisenberg as Nog |previous_production=Ferengi Love Songs |next_production=Children of Time |episode=DS9 S05E21 |airdate= 28 April 1997 |previous_release=(DS9) Ferengi Love Songs (Overall) Real Life |next_release=(DS9) Children of Time (Overall) Distant Origin |story_date(s)=Unknown |group="N"}} (2373) |previous_story= |next_story= }} Summary General Martok receives orders from the Klingon High Council to search for a Klingon vessel, the B'Moth, missing near the Cardassian border. The mission will be Martok's first since he escaped from a Dominion prison. Assigned a Klingon ship, the Rotarran, to command, he gets permission to take along Worf as his First Officer, while Dax joins them as the ship's Science Officer. They board their vessel and begin the search, only to discover that their crew is hardly the group of proud Klingon warriors they expected. Instead, it is an embittered ensemble whose morale has been destroyed by a series of punishing losses at the hands of the Jem'Hadar. Martok expresses his concern to Worf, who replies that the best way to restore morale is with a victory. Martok agrees, but wants to proceed cautiously. Meanwhile, Dax is disturbed by the self-loathing among the crew. She is clearly worried when Worf alerts them to a Jem'Hadar ship located dead ahead. The enemy vessel, unaware of the cloaked Klingon ship, begins to move away. But Martok refuses to attack, ordering the crew to return to its original course. Dax later warns Worf that Martok's actions have contributed significantly to the morale problem aboard. Her feelings prove correct when members of the crew, unable to take our their frustrations on their enemies, turn against each other. The crippled B'Moth is found just within Cardassian space, but Martok fears the Jem'Hadar left it behind as a trap. When Martok refuses to let the crew enter Cardassian territory to rescue the survivors, Worf realizes Martok is paralyzed by fear of the Jem'Hadar. Reluctantly, he decides to challenge Martok for control of the ship, even if, according to Klingon protocol, he must kill him. Worf gives the order to rescue the B'Moth survivors, and challenges Martok. The two begin a life-and-death knife fight for control. The crew's spirits are heightened by their bloodlust. Worf sees that Martok's fear is gone and allows him to win the fight, sustaining a nasty wound just as a Jem'Hadar ship approaches. The revitalized crew, led by Martok, defeats the enemy vessel and rescues the B'Moth survivors, returning to Deep Space Nine as victors for the first time. Martok is forever grateful to Worf for reminding him of his duty as a Klingon warrior. Errors and Explanations Nit Central # Keith Alan Morgan on Thursday, April 29, 1999 - 7:55 am: My dad, an old army man, was surprised that Worf, an officer, was fixing the console, while Nog, a cadet, was just standing around. Apparently in the US military officers are not allowed to do repairs, although supposedly in the Russian army only officers are allowed to do repairs. I tried to point out that Starfleet is neither and added that probably none of the writers, actors or others involved in the show were ever in the military, but he still feels it is inconsistent. Mark Swinton on Tuesday, November 02, 1999 - 5:28 pm: Re. the Worf-Nog repair scene. I'm just wondering if this isn't a situation like we have here at York University at the moment. I'm working on a performance of a mini-opera by David Blake, a respected composer and senior professor here. One would think that since he is here to guide us through his music, he would take the lion's share of the work- conducting it in performance. However, he has given that task of musical direction over to a third-year student and is merely sitting in on rehearsals, passing the occasional comment at the director's proposals and sometimes playing the piano when the accompanist has to step away briefly. Since Nog is at DS9 to do Academy training, we could assume that Worf is doing the manual bit of the repair work so as to give Nog a shot at the paperwork and checking part that goes with it, just as Professor Blake is giving an undergraduate a shot at conducting his music.Alfonso Turnage on Friday, June 25, 1999 - 3:39 pm: Starfleet is a 1/3 military, 1/3 exploratory, 1/3 academic organization; some current military traditions and protocols would transfer to Starfleet and some obviously would not. # My dad also wondered why a General would be given command of a bird of prey, which is the weakest and smallest of the Klingon fleet, instead of a more powerful ship more befitting of his rank. I was a little disappointed that they chose not to show the battle between the Klingon and Jem'Hadar ships, especially since in The Jem’Hadar, the Jem'Hadar ships made such short work of the Odyssey, a top of the line, Galaxy Class starship, but I assume both time and money were too limited to do such a battle properly. '''Alfonso Turnage on Friday, June 25, 1999 - 3:39 pm: There were probably weapons and shields enhancements that helped this bird-of-prey do what the Odyssey could not. ''' Notes Category:Episodes Category:Deep Space Nine